ABSTRACT
The definition of social housing in the socialist housing system is very uncertain, as public housing did not correspond to Western social housing models. State subsidized housing (both in the public and in the owner-occupied sector) was open to a wide range of different incomes and professional groups. However, a private housing market developed alongside the state housing sphere under more or less strict state control (rural self-help buildings, private condominiums, buying and selling the existing housing), which led to the emergence of a dual market. The state housing investments (public, cooperative, and owner-occupied housing) were financed through budgetary resources and through the state bank system, which operated under the control of central planning. The banks issued loans at a price and in a magnitude set by the central planning agencies. Consequently, the financing of public housing was identical to the financing of housing in general (Hegedüs and Tosics 1990).
